The first movie I remember going out to see was Star Wars. That was around 1977 and I went to the Drive-In with my sister and her boyfriend. I was only 6 years old and I fell asleep in the middle of the movie!

The first movie that I saw all the way through without falling asleep was Star Trek The Motion Picture around 1979. My sister took me to see it and since then my sister and I have gone to see every single Star Trek movie together. It's a tradition.

My parents weren't movie goers and I don't remember going with them to see any movies. I do know that the last time my parents went out to the movies was in 1973 to see Robert Redford in The Sting!

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Most New Yorkers don't even know it exists. But a million forgotten
souls are buried in mass graves dug by convicts on a tiny, forbidden
island east of the Bronx.
Since 1869, still-born babies, the homeless, the poor and the
unclaimed have been stacked one upon the other, three coffins deep, on
Hart Island.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

To remember the commencement of the Civil War in April 1861, FOLD 3 invites you to explore all records in its
Civil War Collection for free April 14–30.

Explore Civil War documents featuring everything
from military records to personal accounts and historic writings.
Soldier records include service records, pension index cards, “Widows’
Pension” files, Navy survivors certificates, Army
registers, and much more. Other record types include photographs,
original war maps, court investigations, slave records, and beyond.
Items such as the Lincoln Assassination Papers, Sultana Disaster
documents, letters to the Adjutant General and Commission
Branch, and the 1860 census are also contained in the Civil War
Collection.

Join Fold3 in its commemoration of the Civil War.
Discover information on famous participants as well as your own Civil
War ancestors through documents, photos, and images that capture the
experiences and vital information of those involved
in America’s deadliest conflict. Then commemorate your ancestors by
creating or expanding memorial pages for them on Fold3’s
Honor Wall

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Israeli
archaeologists are announcing the
discovery of a tomb, which contains bronze and ceramic artifacts, and a
ceramic coffin, from the Bronze Age, some 3,300 years ago.
Inside the tomb archaeologists found a
small golden scarab inscribed with the name King Seti I of Egypt who is believed to be the
father of Ramesses II. Many of
the other items in the grave suggest that whoever was buried in the tomb was Egyptian, however
there is also some Canaanite items so it is not clear who the tomb was built for.

There are many names of customers in this one-of-a-kind ledger book. Each page has a customer name and the list of items purchased that year plus the cost. Some customers have more than one page of items. It's very interesting to see what food cost in 1896 and what an ancestor was buying!

S. T. Cornwell in the image on the left, bought eggs, candy, oil, flour, socks, shoes and more. One pair of shoes cost $1.15 that year.

In some cases, one page has several customer names on it, such as the page on the right. If your ancestor lived in Culpeper Virginia in 1896 there's a good chance you will find his or her name in this gem.

I had a quick look for some of these names and found several of them living in Prince William County, Virginia. It seems Mr. Turley was a very bad speller as many seem to be phonetic representations of the person's name.

For example there is a "Page Bumery" buying laundry and gloves on one page. However his real name is Page Bumbery. We also see "Tasker Fisher" and "Georgiana Fisher" A search of the 1900 census shows a black man Tasker Fisher and his wife Georgia in Prince William County, Virginia.

All pdf file downloads are freely available. I am scanning adding the ledger books I own as quickly as he can, so be sure to keep checking on Ancestors At Rest for updates

I don't remember my Great Grandmother as she died many years before my birth. She was born Myrtle Louisa Sandercock on October 29th 1895 in Middlesex County Ontario. She was the only girl in a family of seven children born to Samuel and Ann Sandercock.

At some point before her marriage to my Great Grandfather John Massey in 1913 the family had moved to St. Marys Ontario. I do not know how John and Myrtle met each other but John's father Thomas worked for the J.D. Moore company who just happened to own the building right next to the hotel that Myrtle worked in so that may have something to do with it.

Myrtle with a tray at the hotel in about 1910 - 1913

At her marriage Myrtle was just 18 years old but her life was not going to be easy over the next few years. Myrtle and John had their first child in May of 1914 and over the next 16 years she would have a total of 9 children. But 1914 would also bring the start of the Great War - a war that would see her two oldest brothers killed and her father sent home due to ill health. Myrtle was particularly close to her brother James who was killed in 1918. I still have a letter James sent to his sister in 1918 that she kept until her death.

Of course there were the usual struggles for Myrtle and John as well. Money was in short supply as it was for many. John always worked but with 9 kids what he made did not go far. I remember my Grandfather telling me how when he was older and had his first job his mom would resort to taking coins from his stash that he kept in a cup in his room. He shared this room with his 8 brothers. He never said anything to her about it as he knew she needed it.

So the Great War of 1914 - 1918 saw the death of her two oldest brothers. The 1920s were a struggle for her, being pregnant and nursing young children most of the time. The 1930s brought the great depression and then to top it all off 1939 saw the start of another war. A war poor Myrtle had to see her own sons take part in. I am sure she could not help think about her own brothers who died in the first war as she watched her own sons go off to the second.

John and Myrtle about 1942

Myrtle died at the young age of 49 in 1944. My grandmother told me that "Myrtle
was doing the washing in the morning. She told her husband Jack that
she was not feeling well and went to lie down and never woke up. It
was a brain aneurysm"

Her Funeral card reads:

"Entered into rest suddenly at her late residence,
Water St. South, St. Marys on Monday October 2, 1944, Myrtle L.
Sandercock, beloved wife of John Massey in her 49th year. The funeral:
Resting at the above address where funeral service will be held Thursday
October 5 at 2p.m. Interment in St. Marys Cemetery"

Stricken suddenly on Monday
morning in the midst of her daily work, Mrs. John Massey, formerly
Myrtle Sandercock, died in her 49th year at her home on Water St.
South. She had been in apparent good health and on Sunday had gone on a walk and on Monday she started her washing as usual. Around 8:30 she was unable to continue and died about two hours later.
Born near Prospect Hill, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Sandercock who
reside in the West Ward, she had lived in Lucan before coming to St.
Marys as a little girl. Here she attended both Public School and
Collegiate Institute, and 30 years ago married John Massey who is
employed at Maxwell Ltd. She was a member of St. James Anglican Church
and had been among the first members of St. Marys Home and School
Association. She was a faithful worker for Red Cross objectives.Mrs.
Massey was the devoted mother of nine children, four sons being in the
Services: Charles, in the Army at Debert, N.S.; Pte. Bill Massey in
France; Pte. Cecil Massey in England; John with the R.C.A.F. at Jarvis;
and Kenneth at home; Mrs. C.J. Langford(Marjorie) and Mrs. G.E.
McKinnon(Helen), both of St. Marys; and Dorothy and Evelyn at home.She
also leaves four brothers: Jack, in the U.S. Army; Harry, overseas;
Wilbert of St. Marys and Frank of Detroit; besides four grandchildren:
Tommy and Jimmie(twins) of St. Marys and Billy and Jimmie of
Kingston.The funeral service is being conducted this afternoon at her
late residence by Rev. M.H. Farr of St. Paulís Anglican Church,
Stratford, with interment in St. Marys Cemetery.

Friday, April 04, 2014

Oswego County, New York Samuel Stevenson Saw Mill Ledger Book List of Electors

This is a 1850s ledger book from a saw mill in Oswego, Oswego County,
New York that I now have online in PDF format. The book starts in 1858 and ends in April 1859. The ledger
contains 8 pages of great genealogical and historical information for
Oswego, Oswego County, New York.
The original owner of this this book was Samuel Stevenson. I found
Samuel Stevenson in the 1860 United States Federal Census for Oswego,
Oswego County, New York.
1860 United States Federal Census
Name: Samuel Stevenson
Age in 1860: 38
Birth Year: abt 1822
Birthplace: New York
Home in 1860: Oswego, Oswego, New York
Gender: Male
Post Office: Southwest Oswego
Household Members: Name Age
Clinton Stevenson 23
Clarasa Stevenson 23
Lewis Stevenson 5
Clara Stevenson 7.12
Samuel Stevenson 38
Ellen Park 18

This ledger book is a fantastic one-of-a-kind genealogy resource for Oswego County, New York.

Death Finds a Way: A Janie Riley Mystery by Lorine McGinnis SchulzeJanie Riley is an avid genealogist with a habit of stumbling on to dead bodies. She and her husband head to Salt Lake City Utah to research Janie's elusive 4th great-grandmother. But her search into the past leads her to a dark secret. Can she solve the mysteries of the past and the present before disaster strikes? Available now on Amazon.com